The Fresh Prince of the Zodiac

Now, this is a story all about how
Some stars got flipped-turned upside down
And I would like to take a minute
Just sit right there

I'll tell you how they became the princes of a town called Zodiac

In west outer space born and raised

On the playground was where they spent most of their days

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool

And all shootin some comets outside of the sun

When a couple of meteors

Who were up to no good

Startin making trouble in their neighborhood

They got in one little fight and their universe got scared

She said 'You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in the Zodiac’

They begged and pleaded with her day after day

But she packed their suite cases and sent them on their way

She gave them a kiss and then she gave them their tickets.
They put their walkmans on and said, 'We might as well kick it'.

First class, yo this is bad

Drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass. Is this what the people of the Zodiac Living like?Hmmmmm this might be alright.

But wait I hear there're prissy, wine all that

Is Zodiac the type of place they send these cool constellations?

They didn't think so

They will see when they get thereMan, I hope they're prepared for the princes of the Zodiac

Well, the black hole landed, and when they came out

There was an astroid who looked like a comet standing there with my name out

They ain't trying to get arrested

They just got here

But then they sprang with the quickness like lightening, disappeared

They whistled for a time loop and when it came near

The license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror

If anything I can say this cab is rare

But they thought 'Now forget it' - 'Yo homes to the Zodiac'

They pulled up to the house about 7 or 8And yelled to the cabbie 'Yo homes smell ya later'

They looked at their kingdom

They was finally there

To sit on their constellations as the Princes of the Zodiac

I really love the Fresh Prince of Bel Air in case you can't tell. And next week it will be Saved By the Bell, I promise. Anyways, that is not what I wanted to talk bout for this blog post. I wanted to talk about the Zodiac. Astrology is something I have always been interested in, and I think that it does have some validity. So far, this has been my incentive to read Grendel. I though that for this blog, I might look into the basic symbolism of each of the first three signs of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, andGemini.

Aries, The Ram (March 20- April 19)
The sign of Aries is asscociated with fresh, new beginnings and is the first sign of the Zodiac. While those that fall under the sign of Aries are said to be adventerous, passionate, and humorous, they are also said to be intolerant, impatient, and boastful.


Taurus, The Bull (April 19- May 20)
Taurus, the sign of the Bull, is often associated with material pleasure. The Bull is often associated with calmness, patience, and loyalty. Don't let that fool you though- the saying "When you mess with the bull, you get the horns" can be absolutotly true when it comes to the Taurus.

Gemini, The Twins (May 20- June 21)

The Gemini Twins are often associated with youth and versitility, and are known for their fun-loving, lively, yet restless and lazy personalities.

When you compare these little tidbits to the first three chapters of Grendel, you can see the comparison. The first chapter is the turning of a new leaf for Grendel, it "begins the twelfth year of my [Grendel's] idiotic war!" (Gardner 5), which is brought in with the "grim stirrings of springtime," (Gardner 8) by the ram. In chapter 2, which is associated with the tempermental bull, the Zodiac influence can be seen in the bull's calm persistance in hitting the tree and in Grendel's calm whilest being attacked by the bull. I can see the Gemini personality in Grendel throughout the noveld as his character develops, especially the restless potion.